ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, August 26, 1996 TAG: 9608260005
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: & NOW THIS
About 20 minutes into the All-America City fireworks extravaganza in downtown Roanoke Aug. 17, something odd happened:
Dozens of fireworks screamed into the air and lit up the sky like an accidental blast in a munitions factory. Booms bounced off the concrete buildings, echoing through downtown and mixing with the appreciative claps, whistles and hoots of onlookers.
When the apparent finale subsided, hundreds of people stood to leave. But all of a sudden, the fireworks resumed, bursts of two, three and four at a time in red, blue, green, white and gold.
"Hey, they're going off again," onlookers muttered as they sat down again.
Fifteen or 20 minutes later, the real, and even bigger, finale blasted into the air, shooting streams of light through an ever-thickening cloud of gunpowder as blast after blast rocked downtown.
The midpoint finale may have looked like a mistake, but it was an intentional bit of showmanship that dates back to the days of burlesque.
It's called a "tease" - as in strip. Like its body-baring counterpart, a fireworks tease is designed to grab the interest of onlookers who may be getting bored and letting their eyes wander elsewhere.
"It's at the discretion of the technician," says Vic Laurenza of Zambelli Inc., the Pennsylvania man who made the fireworks. Star Shooters, a company from Altavista, was hired to set them off.
Apparently, it worked. After it was over, one middle-aged woman who watched from outside the Norfolk Southern Building shook her head and said, "That was the best fireworks show I've ever seen in Roanoke."
The fireworks cost $4,000, but they didn't cost taxpayers a dime. The funding was donated by the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, First American Federal Savings Bank, Shenandoah Life Insurance Co., J.M. Turner Construction, the Horace G. Fralin Charitable Trust and Norfolk Southern Corp. Warner Dalhouse, former chairman of First Union Bank of Virginia, raised the funds.
- DAN CASEY
A meeting of the Hineses
The Rev. Lenord Hines of Roanoke learned at a family reunion a while back that he's related to Gregory Hines, the award-winning Broadway dancer and Hollywood actor. Their grandfathers were brothers, so Lenord and Gregory Hines are cousins, says the Roanoke minister.
Last month Lenord Hines heard from a radio station that his famous cousin was coming to town. Gregory Hines and his wife are friends with people high up in the national Jan Tana bodybuilding organization. They were coming to a Jan Tana competition at the Roanoke Civic Center in July and staying at the Hotel Roanoke.
Lenord Hines found his cousin at the civic center. He says Gregory Hines was blown away when this new-found Roanoke cousin started rattling off lots of family names. Both Hineses are pretty rusty on their roots, Lenord says. "I think he knows as little as I know."
The Roanoke Hines gave the famous Hines one of his business cards and hopes he'll hear from him someday.
- MARY BISHOP
White's all right with Brown
Bedford County may have a sheriff with the last name Brown, but he likes his cars white.
Sheriff Mike Brown is replacing his department's brown fleet with white vehicles. He hoped to hold a news conference to inform county residents about the change - which he says will be safer and save the county money - but someone beat him to it.
Anonymous letters were sent to The Roanoke Times and other media this month saying that Brown was breaking the law by painting his patrol vehicles white. And that's true - technically
A state statute requires all sheriff's offices to paint their vehicles brown. However, there's no penalty for a sheriff who doesn't comply, and sheriffs in several other counties, including Hanover, New Kent, Powhatan, Shenandoah and Wythe, have painted their cars in non-brown colors, such as blue or tan.
Furthermore, the state sheriff's association plans to lobby the General Assembly to change the all-brown requirement next year.
The sheriff says the white cars reflect 55 percent more light than the brown cars, making them more visible to other drivers. Also, the county will save several hundred dollars per vehicle by keeping them factory white instead of paying for a brown paint job.
"As sheriff, I will not pass this burden on to the taxpayers when the money could be spent for items we urgently need," Brown said.
- RICHARD FOSTER
The pot will perk again
In case you haven't noticed, the nostalgic H&C Coffee pot isn't pouring red neon coffee from its spout as usual. Only the cup and stream of coffee are lighting up at night. But don't fret, Roanoke. Your beloved landmark will be back to normal soon, says the shop foreman of the sign company that maintains the glowing City Market fixture.
Jeff Trevilian, shop foreman for Stanford & Inge, Inc., says he hopes to have the sign fully lit by this week. Some neon tubing and wiring must be replaced first.
Stanford & Inge began maintaining the sign this year after the company that handled it for nearly 42 years, Dominion Sign Co., closed down. The sign is owned by Billy's Ritz restaurant owners John and Betsy Williams and leased to the H&C Coffee Co.
- S.D. HARRINGTON
LENGTH: Long : 102 linesby CNB